Written by Luke Barnes
The Star-Spangled Man is the second episode of Marvel’s Falcon And The Winter Soldier. The episode revolves around the introduction of the new Captain America (played by Wyatt Russell), as well as further developments with the Flag Smashers, and an exploration of the ideas around the super soldier serum and it’s continuation beyond Steve Rogers (Chris Evans).
I was deeply disappointed with the first episode of TFTWS, but I have to say this episode was a lot better and really got the series going in the right direction.
First off I want to say how excellent the Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) twist was it showed us a whole otherside of the super soldier project, which helped us recontextualise it in our minds whilst also expanding the wider mythos of the MCU to an interesting new dimension.
Secondly, the series is greatly helped by now having Sam (Antony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) on screen together. After watching this episode it only becomes clearer to me that one of the biggest issues with the first episode of this series was keeping its two main men separated. Luckily this episode fixes that and brings them together. Mackie and Stan have terrific on-screen chemistry together and really make the show what it is, their easy banter and shared pains make you want to watch the show and give a damn about the characters.
Thirdly, I enjoyed how this episode showed us the new Captain America in a wider light, we get to see him as both a villain to Bucky and Sam (the former takes an immediate dislike to him), as well as a hero in his own right. The ending of the episode teases us with bigger things to come and no doubt the new Captain America will have his character explored in further depth, but this is a nice start.
My only issue with this episode is that despite marking a quarter of the series being over, (as it is only 6 episodes), it still feels like it is arranging the pieces, which really should have been done in the first episode. An example of what I am talking about is that Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), was said to have a large role in the series yet now we are a quarter of the way through it, and she is yet to appear. The pace should either have been quicker or there should have been more episodes commissioned to better fit this slow style.
Overall, a much, much stronger episode, however pacing still remains an issue.
Pros.
Bringing Bucky and Sam together
The reveal of Isaiah Bradley
Zemo
The new Captain America and his character work
Cons.
The pace is still too slow
4/5
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